G4Shttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/g4s
en-usSun, 02 Aug 2015 14:58:16 -0400Sun, 02 Aug 2015 14:58:16 -0400The latest news on G4S from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-head-pr-just-made-58360-from-selling-thousands-of-shares-2015-3G4S' head PR just made £58,360 from selling thousands of shareshttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-head-pr-just-made-58360-from-selling-thousands-of-shares-2015-3
Thu, 19 Mar 2015 05:10:19 -0400Lianna Brinded
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/550a9285dd089503318b457d-1200-858/rtr4f6ip.jpg" border="0" alt="Champagne"></p><p>Britain's embattled security firm G4S turned a corner last week after it confirmed that <a href="ttp://uk.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3#ixzz3UotESZ9n">it&nbsp;</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="ttp://uk.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3#ixzz3UotESZ9n">swung back into profit in 2014</a>. And it looks like G4S' senior executives are aiming to cash in too by selling their shares.</span></p>
<p>G4S, which was fined £108.9 million ($164 million) in 2013 by the UK Treasury after it found that the security group overcharged the government for providing electronic tagging services for criminals that were either dead or back in prison, confirmed in its 2014 results statement that it raked in £148 million in pretax profits.</p>
<p>In 2013, it made a loss of £190 million, following writedowns related to the scandal.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Its shares immediately shot up on 10 March after it announced its results. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3">Its shares are now over 24% higher than it was a year ago</a>. Today, the share price is around 298.50p.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/550a9285dd089503318b457c-728-399/g4s.jpg" border="0" alt="g4s"><br></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">So it comes as no surprise that some of the <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/g4s-plc--gfs-/gnw/g4s-plc-uk-dk---director-pdmr-shareholding/20150319084142H4742/">company's senior staff are cashing in while they can.</a></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In a regulatory statement today, G4S' company secretary&nbsp;Peter David confirmed that the firm's <a href="http://www.g4s.com/en/Who%20we%20are/Our%20people/Executive%20team%20profiles/">group communications director (basically the head PR) Debbie Walker</a> sold 20,000 ordinary shares on March 18, 2015. The <a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/g4s-plc--gfs-/gnw/g4s-plc-uk-dk---director-pdmr-shareholding/20150319084142H4742/">stock was sold at £2.918 per share</a>. The total for the sale stood at £58,360.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Walker heads</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;the corporate communications team which focuses on the group’s "key audiences:" investors, media, government, employees and customers. She is also the&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">vice chairman of the lobby group&nbsp;Confederation of British Industry (CBI) South East Regional Council (the representative body for all CBI member companies based in the South East of England and the Thames Valley).&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-head-pr-just-made-58360-from-selling-thousands-of-shares-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/science-relationships-why-women-cheating-2015-1">Research reveals why women cheat, and it's not what you think</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3G4S shares jump as it puts the criminal tagging scandal behind ithttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3
Tue, 10 Mar 2015 04:47:57 -0400Lianna Brinded
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54feafdadd0895946a8b458f-1200-2400/rtx10erl.jpg" border="0" alt="Protesters gather outside G4S security company's annual general meeting in London, June 6, 2013."></p><p>British security giant G4S seems to have finally put the electronic tagging scandal behind it after it&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/g4s-plc--gfs-/gnw/g4s-plc-uk-dk---annual-financial-report/20150310070113H0663/">swung back into profit in 2014</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">G4S, which was fined £108.9 million ($164 million) in 2013 by the UK&nbsp;Treasury after it found that the security group &nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10692369/Chris-Grayling-G4S-will-repay-130m-over-electronic-tag-scandal.html">overcharged the government for providing electronic tagging services for criminals that were either dead or back in prison</a>, confirmed in its 2014 results statement that it raked in £148 million in pretax profits.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In 2013, it made a loss of £190 million, following writedowns related to the scandal.</span></p>
<p>"The group made good progress with its strategic plan, delivering commercial, operational and financial progress during 2014," said&nbsp;<span><a href="http://www.investegate.co.uk/g4s-plc--gfs-/gnw/g4s-plc-uk-dk---annual-financial-report/20150310070113H0663/">Ashley Almanza, CEO at&nbsp;G4S in a statement</a>.</span></p>
<p>"This is reflected in a 7.9% increase in underlying PBITA (profits before tax) and a 11.7% increase in underlying earnings and a 25% increase in cash flow from the group's operating businesses. The group's progress and prospects are reflected in the board's recommendation to increase the final dividend by 5%. <a href="http://www.g4s.uk.com/en-GB/Media%20Centre/News/2014/04/09/G4S%20response%20to%20Cabinet%20Office%20statement/">There remains much to be done to realise the full potential of our strategy and we expect to make further progress in 2015.</a>"</p>
<p>Investors seem to be happy with the group's progress. G4S shares shot up 2% on the market open. The G4S stock price is now nearly 22% up over the last year.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54feafdadd0895946a8b458e-723-431/g4s 2.jpg" border="0" alt="g4s 2">&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-2014-results-and-profits-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-ice-glacier-calving-filmed-2015-1">This Video Of The Largest Breakage Of Ice From A Glacier Ever Filmed Is Absolutely Frightening</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-guarding-cyrpus-banks-2013-3There Aren't Nearly Enough Guards For Cyprus Banks Tomorrowhttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-guarding-cyrpus-banks-2013-3
Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:07:00 -0400Adam Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5151ff7deab8ea273f000003-400-299/cyprus-bank-george-iordanou-2.png" border="0" alt="cyprus bank george iordanou 2" width="400" height="299" /></p><p>UK-based security firm G4S will be <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9955508/G4S-struggling-with-Cyprus-workload-as-it-prepares-to-guard-banks.html">guarding banks in Cyprus when they open tomorrow</a>, the Telegraph reports.</p>
<p>You may remember the firm from last summer, when it received a $355 million contract for services at the London Olympics and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-olympic-security-disaster-2012-7">failed to find and/or train enough people to fulfill that contract</a>.</p>
<p>In the end the UK government ended up deploying 17,000 military personnel to London in a last minute bid to keep order, prompting the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7">G4S CEO to explain to Parliament that the situation was a "humiliating shambles"</a>.</p>
<p>In Cyprus, G4S will be guarding branches of <span style="color: #282828; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20.71875px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; display: inline !important; float: none;"><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bank-of-cyprus">Bank of Cyprus</a> and Cyprus Popular Ban</span>k and have apparently been working overnight to ensure cash machines are stocked.<span style="color: #282828; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20.71875px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; display: inline !important; float: none;"></span></p>
<p>However the firm is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9955508/G4S-struggling-with-Cyprus-workload-as-it-prepares-to-guard-banks.html">already running into problems</a> &mdash; licensing rules have prevented the firm from hiring extra staff for the crisis.</p>
<p>"Demand is greater than we can provide... We haven't closed since the crisis started,"&nbsp;John Arghyrou, managing director of the Cyprus business for G4S, told <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/reuters">Reuters</a>. "I've never seen anything like it in terms of what is going on from a security perspective. I would say the workload has quadrupled because the whole system has changed."</p>
<p>The company's Cyprus website is still looking for people to <a href="http://www.g4s.com.cy/">"become part of the G4S team"</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-guarding-cyrpus-banks-2013-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-olympic-security-disaster-2012-7How The Plan To Privatize London's Olympic Security Turned Into A Disasterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-olympic-security-disaster-2012-7
Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:36:00 -0400Adam Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5006e02cecad048f11000004-400-300/olympic-security.jpg" border="0" alt="Olympic Security" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>G4S, a private security company based in the UK, is one of the largest companies in the world, operating in over 150 countries and employs 657,000 people.</p>
<p>Even so, when it announced it would be signing a $355 million contract for services at the London Olympics this year, many eyebrows were raised. The group was due to provide 13,000 members of staff to help the British capital cope with the influx of Olympic visitors, but was such a large-scale use of private security really a good idea?</p>
<p>The G4S group has had a number of scandals in recent years, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/16/mubenga-g4s-face-charges-death">perhaps most notably the death of Angolan immigrant Jimmy Mubenga in 2010</a> (<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-17/olympic-security-firm-g4s-not-charged-over-2010-flight-death">this week G4S was told it wouldn't be charged for the death</a>), and there were serious concerns about the training and accountability of G4S employees.</p>
<p>However, even G4S's biggest critics must be jaw-dropped at the scandal that has enveloped the company before the games have event started.</p>
<p>Last week, with less than a month to go to the opening ceremony, G4S announced that it would not be able to meet provide the staff it had said it would, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7">falling short by over 3,500 personnel</a>. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18877744">The BBC reports that even those staff who had accepted offers with G4S</a> have been dumbfounded by a lack of contact with the company, and many of them had not turned up to their shifts.</p>
<p>Given the short notice, the armed forces had to be called in to fill the spaces, meaning that over 17,000 military personnel would be on the ground or on standby in London during the games. Not only is that more than are currently in Afghanistan, these well-trained troops are being used for menial tasks.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>Had my bag checked by a fully trained RAF medic today at the Olympic Park. Well done <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523G4S">#G4S</a></p>
&mdash; Robert Booth (@Robert_Booth) <a href="https://twitter.com/Robert_Booth/status/224963636261695488" data-datetime="2012-07-16T20:28:05+00:00">July 16, 2012</a></blockquote>
<p>On Tuesday, British Parliament called in Nick Buckles, the chief executive of G4S, in to explain. Buckles admitted that the situation was a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7">"humiliating shambles" and that the reputation of G4S was now "in tatters"</a>.</p>
<p>It's difficult to imagine a more crushing fall from grace for G4S, where profits went up 39% in 2011. A key part of the security firms expansion has been taking over the services traditionally held by state employees &mdash; for example the firm had been providing staff for UK border security for years and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/g4s-juggernaut-keeps-rolling-along--despite-olympics-fiasco-7939643.html">it operates four prisons for the British government, with plans to takeover more on the way</a>.</p>
<p>Crucially, the company saw its future in taking over many services from the UK's overstretched police force. The company had recently signed a contract worth $250 million to take over half of the Lincolnshire Police Department's civilian duties, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-uk-government-is-flirting-with-privatizing-its-police-force-2012-3">part of a growing government plan for privatization</a>. Just weeks ago, the UK and Africa head of G4S, David Taylor-Smith, argued that his company will be running large parts of the UK's police force within five years &mdash; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-police-privatization-2012-6">and privatization of police services would only spread</a>.</p>
<p>Those comments now look completely insane. The British government is now working to activate the penalty clauses in their contract with G4S, <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/271ab2e4-d0e6-11e1-8d1d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz20zPf1K92">the FT reports</a>, and the company's market value <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-17/olympic-security-firm-g4s-not-charged-over-2010-flight-death">has dropped $938 million in just four days</a>. Perhaps even more damaging to the company, and those that advocating further privatization of the security services, is the extent to which the company has become a national laughing stock (for example, British comedian Peter Serafinowicz's inept alter-ego Brian Butterfield is now an employee of the site, <a href="https://twitter.com/MrBButterfield/status/225186328252399616/photo/1">according to his Twitter account)</a>.</p>
<p>Is the G4S scandal the death knoll for privatization of government security services? Perhaps, <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/g4s-juggernaut-keeps-rolling-along--despite-olympics-fiasco-7939643.html">but some point out that the G4S already makes nearly 30 percent of its revenue from British public service contracts</a>. That juggernaut may be tough to stop.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-olympic-security-disaster-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-theme-song-2012-7The Private Security Firm At The Center Of An Olympic Scandal Really Don't Want You To Hear This Ridiculous 'Theme Song'http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-theme-song-2012-7
Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:19:00 -0400Adam Taylor
<p>Things surely can't get much worse for G4S, the huge private security firm that signed a $335 million contract to provide security for the London Olympics.</p>
<p>Not only have they failed to provide around <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7">3,500 of the 11,000 personnel promised</a>, but the army has had to be brought in to take their place. Chief executive Nick Buckles <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7">admitted that the situation was a "humiliating shambles" and that the reputation of G4S was now "in tatters"</a>.</p>
<p>So right now Buckles and the rest of G4S are probably regretting allowing an inspirational hard rock theme-tune to be recorded and put on the internet last year. They've already taken the video down from <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/g4s-has-theme-song-it-awful-you-would-expect">YouTube since it was posted by the New Statesman last week,</a> and links that we found that speak of its existence on the G4S site and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a> page are now dead.</p>
<p>Luckily someone uploaded it to SoundCloud, so you can listen below, and yes, despite its strong resemblance to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzp5NsMcRVg">Team America theme</a>, <strong>this is genuine</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>LISTEN:</strong></p>
<p><iframe width="100%" height="166" frameborder="0" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F52769357&amp;show_artwork=true"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-theme-song-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7Private Security Firm Head Admits The Olympic Situation Is A 'Humiliating Shambles'http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7
Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:06:56 -0400Samuel Blackstone
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4fda825b6bb3f71565000010-400-300/g4s.jpg" border="0" alt="G4S" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>Late last week, G4S, the private security firm tasked with heading security for the London Olympics <a href="This%20week,%20G4S%20notified%20the%20British%20government%20that%20it%20wouldn't%20be%20able%20to%20completely%20fulfill%20its%20contractual%20obligations%20(priced%20at%20$335%20million),%20explaining%20it%20would%20fall%20about%203,500%20personnel%20short%20of%20the%20approximately%2013,000%20personnel%20expected%20to%20be%20provided%20%20Read%20more:%20http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7#ixzz20syAgHkh">notified the British government it wouldn't be able to completely fulfill its contractual obligations</a>,&nbsp;falling 3,500 short of the approximately 13,000 personnel they were expected to provide.</p>
<p>It was a disaster.</p>
<p>Today, chief executive of the company, Nick Buckles, faced the music. Buckles appeared in front of the Home Affairs Select Committee&nbsp;in the House of Commons to explain G4S's failure. Expressing his deepest sorrows, Buckles admitted that the situation was a "humiliating shambles" and that the reputation of G4S was now "in tatters", <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/961037/olympics-security-g4s-boss-is-deeply-sorry">reports Sky News</a>.</p>
<p>Due to provide 10,400 guards for the Games, only 4,200 are currently working, though Buckles hopes that number will reach 7,000 by the time the Games begin. Because of the shortfall, G4S stands to lose between &pound;35 and &pound;50 million ($54 to $78 million) from their contract, representing about 12 percent of their annual profit, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/g4s-chief-facing-grilling-uk-lawmakers-16792328#.UAVlFzFYuN4">reports the AP</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The situation is so bad that the <a href="http://news.findlaw.com/apnews/d7eecfc58bb14acaadc827fd72045915">military has been brought in</a>, and G4S <a href="https://twitter.com/MrBButterfield/status/225186328252399616/photo/1">has pretty much become a nationwide laughing stock</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-chief-olympics-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7The London Olympics Security Situation Is Looking Like A Complete Disasterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7
Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:42:00 -0400Samuel Blackstone
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4fff43f369beddff48000007-401-301/london-olympics.jpg" border="0" alt="London Olympics" width="401" height="301" /></p><p>Last month, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-worlds-largest-private-security-world-2012-6">we took a look at G4S</a>, the private security firm heading security measures at this summer's London Olympics. In our research, we noticed some alarming details: a controversial human rights record, connections with Israel's West Bank settlement, and a lack of oversight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This week, G4S notified the British government that it wouldn't be able to completely fulfill its contractual obligations (priced at $335 million), explaining it would fall about 3,500 personnel short of the approximately 13,000 personnel expected to be provided, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9395081/Olympic-security-contractor-G4S-told-ministers-only-yesterday-it-could-not-fulfil-brief.html">according to the Telegraph</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Just two weeks before the games, this development is causing a lot of embarrassment for G4S, the London Olympic Organizing Committee, and Britain's Home Office. Now, the government, in particular the military, is left to pick up the pieces.&nbsp;In response, the military will be forced to provide 3,500 additional troops to help fill the void, putting a strain on an already beleaguered body, many soldiers just returning or preparing for deployment back&nbsp;to Afghanistan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Before this announcement, 7,500 troops had already been deployed throughout London, with 6,000 more on standby. Add 3,500 to that and the number comes in at 17,000, 7,500 more than currently deployed in Afghanistan, <a href="http://news.findlaw.com/apnews/d7eecfc58bb14acaadc827fd72045915">according to FindLaw</a>, a subsidiary of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/reuters" class="hidden_link">Reuters</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Looking at security for the Games as a whole, the preparation is staggering: 12,000 police, 3,000 volunteers, Typhoon fighter jets, helicopters, two warships, and a slew of bomb disposal teams, FindLaw reports. &nbsp;</p>
<h2>That's Not All: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/london-olympics-curse-2012-5">Here's 32 Other Signs That The Olympics Will Be A Disaster &gt;</a></h2><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-3500-personnel-short-for-london-olympics-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-too-big-for-its-own-good-2012-7One Of The World's Biggest Security Firms Seriously Underestimated How Many Guards They'd Need For The Olympicshttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-too-big-for-its-own-good-2012-7
Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:24:00 -0400Nils Pratley
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4fda6b91eab8eaf639000008-400-/g4s.jpg" border="0" alt="G4S" width="400" /></p><p>The cover of G4S's latest <a href="http://www.g4s.com/~/media/Files/Annual%20Reports/g4s_annualreport_2011.ashx" title="">annual report</a> (pdf) proudly sports a picture of the Olympic stadium alongside the tagline "securing your world".</p>
<p>An alternative headline could now read: chief executive desperately trying to secure his job.</p>
<p>Nick Buckles will have known that the Olympics gig was the one contract G4S had to execute to perfection this year.</p>
<p>The mess is still developing but the scale already risks doing very serious damage to the company's reputation for competence, and thus to its ability to win high-profile contracts in future. A total of 3,500 troops have been put on stand-by to cover for G4S's failure to hire enough security guards on time.</p>
<p>If Buckles can rapidly round up a few thousand gap-year students, the eventual requirement for troops may turn out to be smaller. Equally, though, the problems could get worse &ndash; and prolonged chaos would probably require Buckles to put away his high-visibility jacket for good.</p>
<p>His personal stock is yet to recover from the cack-handed and failed attempt to buy rival ISS for a colossal &pound;5.2bn last year. Shareholders hated the deal and shot it down. In part, that was because they thought a company with a proposed combined workforce of 1.1m would be too big to manage. The same question should now be asked of G4S in standalone form. It employs 575,000 people. Is management too stretched?</p>
<p>For now, investors are taking a relaxed view of the shambles. Even on a "down" day in the market, G4S shares fell less than 3%, perhaps reflecting the thought that a &pound;280m contract is small beer in the context of a company with revenues last year of &pound;7.5bn. But what does the market really know? Remember: on day one of Barclays's Libor revelations, the bank's share price actually rose. This could get a lot worse for G4S and Buckles.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-too-big-for-its-own-good-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-police-privatization-2012-6The Head Of The World's Largest Private Security Firm Predicts Police Privatization Will Spreadhttp://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-police-privatization-2012-6
Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:28:00 -0400Adam Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4fda6b91eab8eaf639000008-400-300/g4s.jpg" border="0" alt="G4S" width="400" height="300" /></p><p> G4S is not only the world's largest security firm, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-worlds-largest-private-security-world-2012-6#">it's one of the largest companies in the world, period</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, UK has been freaking out a little over the company, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/20/g4s-securing-your-world-policing?INTCMP=SRCH">mostly due to the fact the company is supplying</a> 10,000 guards in a deal worth more than &pound;284 million ($445 million).</p>
<p>But probably more worrying than that may be the slow privatization of the police force by G4S. The company is already taking over some civilian duties for one British police force, and more regions may soon be on the table in a deal that could eventually be worth &pound;3.5 billion ($5.5 billion).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/20/g4s-chief-mass-police-privatisation">Now in comments reported in the Guardian</a>, the UK and Africa head of G4S, David Taylor-Smith, argues that his company will be running large parts of the UK's police force within five years &mdash; and privatization of police services will only spread:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>"We have been long-term optimistic about the police and short-to-medium-term pessimistic about the police for many years. Our view was, look, we would never try to take away core policing functions from the police but for a number of years it has been absolutely clear as day to us &ndash; and to others &ndash; that the configuration of the police in the UK is just simply not as effective and as efficient as it could be."</em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/g4s-police-privatization-2012-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>